Chapter 3

"Ms. Hayes, the patents you are referring to have already been officially reassigned."

The clerk at the USPTO spoke in a calm, robotic tone over the phone.

"Reassigned? I never signed any transfer documents."

"Our system shows the request was submitted by your company’s legal department, along with a signed consent form for the inventor change. It has your signature."

"That signature is forged."

"I see... You’ll need to resolve that through legal channels. We don't have the authority to verify signatures here—"

I hung up and started calling lawyers.

The first one:

"Ms. Hayes, I’m so sorry. Our docket is completely full. We can't take on new clients right now."

The second one:

"Sterling Tech is a major client of our firm. There's a conflict of interest. We can't represent you."

The third was my old classmate from law school. She was more honest than the others.

"Chloe, I'm going to be real with you. Jared’s family sent a retainer warning to every IP firm in the city. No one wants to touch your case. If you want a lawyer, you’ll have to look out of state."

"When did he send that?"

"Last month. Right before the IPO."

Last month. Before I even knew my shares were being stolen, he had already blocked every path of escape.

I put down my phone and called my college roommate, Maya. Her cousin worked at a major IP firm in the neighboring state.

The phone rang twelve times before she picked up.

"Chloe... hey. How are you?"

"Maya, is your cousin still at Sterling & Davies? I need her to—"

"Chloe," she cut in gently. "Scarlett took me out to tea last week."

I froze.

"She told me a lot. She said you haven't been doing well mentally... and that we shouldn't trigger you."

"What did she say about me?"

"She said you’ve convinced yourself that you built the company’s tech, but you only worked on a tiny part of it... Chloe, are you... I'm just worried about you. Are you sure you aren't just confused?"

I didn't say a word.

Scarlett had already reached my friends.

I hung up, only to receive a new text. It was from Jared’s mother, Victoria.

"Chloe, I wanted to let you know."

"Scarlett is pregnant. Three months."

"Jared wants to finalize the divorce as soon as possible. If you sign quietly, he’ll give you a decent allowance."

"I’ve always liked you, but a man needs his legacy. You're a woman, you should understand."

"Don't make this ugly for everyone."

I put down my phone and turned on the TV.

A business news channel was broadcasting an interview. Scarlett was sitting in the guest chair, wearing my camel cashmere coat.

The host asked, "Ms. Vance, Sterling Tech's AI is leading the industry. Can you share your development journey?"

Scarlett smiled warmly. "I’ve been deeply involved in the core tech for years. Jared handles the business side, and I take care of everything on the back end."

I switched off the TV.

My phone rang again. It was an unknown number.

"Chloe Hayes? I'm Marcus Kane, Editor-in-Chief of *Business Weekly*. I sent you an email before—"

"Yes, I remember."

"You replied telling us to interview the new Mrs. Sterling. But we did some digging. The initial patent filings for the AI core were under your name."

"Did you write this technology?"

I stared out the window into the dark. I waited three seconds.

"What kind of story do you want to write?"

"The truth."

"Then wait."

"It's not time yet."